Seems So Surreal
by Anya Catalyn
Summary: A new lawyer gets involved to defend Lincoln's case. Things will eventually make sense.
1. Witness

Kaelyn didn't understand how a simple criminal case could become so complicated in a short amount of time. At first, things didn't seem so confusing when she had researched exactly what the case was about. However, gathering evidence and talking with Lincoln Burrows' last lawyer had been a complete joke. Useful information had coincidently been evading her and Kaelyn barely had anything to create a good defense. Every case had its roadblocks, she knew, but these obstacles seemed planned.

It wasn't until she had been attacked twice within twenty minutes that Kaelyn realized that this case was bigger than she expected. Being nearly killed by a completely stranger was terrifying, but when Nate Ritter held that gun to her face, words couldn't describe how betrayed she felt. Nevertheless, although she wouldn't admit it, Kaelyn still loved Nate and could eventually forgive him for his momentary lapse of judgment. In fact, she could almost thank him because now she knew that she was digging in forbidden territory. Someone was angry that Lincoln Burrows' case was being brought back and Kaelyn had new evidence to use against the accusers. The only problem was convincing Nate to testify that he had been asked to kill her because of this specific case. Nate was embarrassed by his rash actions, though. Would he really want to announce to the court that he had attacked Kaelyn, or that he had shot and killed her assaulter? Without Nate's testimony, however, Lincoln could be considered as good as dead.

"_He owes me_," Kaelyn thought solemnly, drinking the last of her mocha while she walked down the icy Chicago sidewalks, "_Nate is _going_ to testify._"

She knew Nate would obviously be in danger for murdering someone, but it had all been in self-defense. Kaelyn was a damn good lawyer, and she would never allow Nate to go back to jail. He didn't deserve it.

Tossing the empty cup in the trashcan, Kaelyn looked up at the apartment building hesitantly. An argument would ensue, no doubt, but she would win Nate over. After what he had done, Nate had no choice but to help her. It was either that, or he go to jail for murder. Kaelyn wasn't about to defend two innocent, murder suspects.

After a steady climb to the second story, Kaelyn entered her apartment, finding Nate asleep on the couch. It was still early, and Kaelyn always left to get a morning coffee so she wasn't surprised to see the blue-eyed beauty dozing. Best to ask him now or she would never be able to bring herself to ask him again.

"Ritter," she murmured, referring to him by his last name, "Wake up."

"Mm!" The brunette protested, moaning into his pillow.

"I said get up!" Kaelyn demanded this time, roughly hitting the ex-con on the shoulder to awaken him.

Jerking in surprise, Nate sat up and stared at the lawyer with his wide, blue eyes. He relaxed as soon as he saw who it was, laying back against the couch. "What's the idea, huh? I was having a good dream."

"I need to talk to you," Kaelyn sat at the end of the couch, "It's about the Burrows' case."

He groaned, rolling on to his side with his back to her, "You woke me up for _that_?"

"This is serious, Nate," she grabbed his foot and shook it a little, "His time is running out. The trial is in a few weeks."

"Your point?"

"Ritter, I need you to testify for me. You met with the people that want Lincoln dead, and you know exactly who they are—"

Nate held his hand up to stop her, "No way, Kaelyn. I'm on parole and if anyone finds out that I killed a man, its death row for me, too."

"It was self-defense, Ritter! Besides, you aren't the one on trial, remember?" she shot back anxiously, "Don't do this… You need to do what's right and show the court that you're a changed man."

Roughly, Nate pulled away from her and stood, glaring down at the lawyer. "They already think that I killed my brother. I don't need to give them reason to believe that I'm a cold-blooded killer after all."

"And they won't think that you're a killer because no one is going to be asking you questions about that," Kaelyn paused for a moment to think, then continued, "You're a witness and you aren't on trial."

He gave her a skeptical expression.

"Just tell the truth, Nate," she urged him.

After a long pause, he held up his index finger and shook it as he spoke, "All right… I'm trusting you."


	2. Nathaniel Ritter

Her meeting was scheduled for ten o'clock, but Kaelyn was running late after being trapped in traffic (two overturned semi-trucks put the highway to a complete stop for forty minutes), which put her in a bad mood, especially since she was going to the prison to meet her newest client. His name was Nathaniel Benjamin Ritter; convicted for murder and attempted suicide at the crime scene. Kaelyn couldn't help but think that she always got stuck with the strangest criminals—the ones with the biggest attitude problems.

After going through a ten-minute process of security checks, the young lawyer was allowed into the visitor's center where her client was waiting. To her surprise, the man she was interviewing was not elderly and intimidating, but rather young and innocent. With wide blue eyes that stared off at the opposite wall, and unruly dark brown hair, Kaelyn could have easily mistaken him for a typical college boy. And yet, here he sat in Fox River, a guard at his side and he handcuffed to his chair. The blue inmate suit that he was wearing brought out his eyes, which was (by far) his most admirable attribute to his physical appearance. Kaelyn had to keep herself from impolitely staring as she sat down at the table across from him. He didn't even look at her.

"Well, Mr. Ritter, you don't fit the profile of a killer."

Ritter brought his gaze up to her, glaring intensely in reply to her comment. His free hand lay on the table, slowly forming into a fist. However, with the guard at his side, the convict did not make a hostile move.

With a soft sigh, Kaelyn pulled out a file from her briefcase and set it down in front of him. "You're twenty-seven? And your brother was… twenty-two when he died."

"I didn't kill him," Ritter said after a moment, lowering his gaze again, "When I found him, he was dead. He was lying on the floor, stabbed to death, bleeding everywhere… He was dead."

Blinking in surprise, Kaelyn stopped rummaging through the papers in her file to pay closer attention. His voice was shaking, whether it was from anger or sadness, she didn't know. However, he sounded so hurt and distraught while reliving the memories. "All right… That's a good start, Ritter. My job is to defend you, after all, and I need your defense."

"What the hell can I tell you?" He growled at her, eyes locking with hers, "They think that I killed him, and now I'm in jail for it."

"You tell me your side of the story… If you didn't kill him, who did? Were you purposely framed for the murder of Jake Ritter?"

With a heavy sigh, he slouched in the chair and thought over his story. Ritter wanted to have every detail for her, and now that he wasn't under any pressure by the cross-examiners, it would be easier to talk. Drumming his fingers on the table to a beat only he heard, Ritter began to speak in a soft tone. "We'd gotten into an argument over some bills that he hadn't helped pay, we were about to get evicted for it… It was a really stressful night. We were yelling, I was pushing him around the kitchen and knocked over some chairs, but nothing that hurt him. Before I did anything irrational, I left the house to clear my head.

When I finally got some clear idea of where we could go after eviction, I went back home to tell Jake. The door was unlocked, which is unusual since it's a shitty neighborhood and it's just stupid to leave your house unlocked, and I went inside. It looked how I had left it, but I had been so pissed off at him that I don't know how much damage I did to the house. It could have been his attackers, but I'm not sure.

I went into the kitchen after calling for him and… there he was. Just lying on the ground, bleeding to death."

Kaelyn frowned, noting the broken tone in the young man's voice. If he were any other person, she would have leaned forward to touch his hand or offer words of advice. However, he wasn't any other person, and Kaelyn had to think of him as a convict, even if he did not do the crime. She waited a few moments, but when Ritter did not continue with his alibi, Kaelyn cleared her throat. "You'll most likely be asked to elaborate about where you went, where you were planning to go... Keep that in mind. But right now, I want you to think about who would kill your brother."

"I don't know," Ritter quickly responded.

"That's hard to believe, Mr. Ritter," Kaelyn replied, leaning forward, "Remember, I'm trained in psychology and I know when my clients are lying to me. Now, try telling me the truth so I can get you a fair trial."

"All you need to know is that I didn't kill Jake!" Ritter shouted angrily, startling Kaelyn again. His eyes became wild and enraged, "I'm telling you the truth! Isn't that enough!"

"Until you get your story, it's not. We're done for today," Kaelyn snapped, gathering her files and sloppily stuffing them in her briefcase. "I'm not going to waste my time if you aren't going to let me help you. You think about that, Mr. Ritter, and I'll arrange a meeting for next week, once you've had time to think it over."

Instead of replying, Ritter merely glared as Kaelyn left the table, storming out of the visitor center. This case would be difficult.


End file.
